A former Stonewall resident is making his mark in the political realm in other Canadian provinces.
Brian Goodman grew up in Stonewall and graduated from Stonewall Collegiate Institute in 1997. In his 20s, he lived in both Stonewall and Winnipeg before he moved to Saskatchewan in 2007 to pursue work in politics for Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party government.
The following year, Goodman had the opportunity to move to Gatineau, Que., to work for a member of Parliament. Since Gatineau is near Ottawa, Goodman and his wife Andrea lived in both cities for about a decade.
In 2018, the family moved to Chelsea, Que., in the riding of Pontiac-Kitigan Zibi — and Goodman recently threw his hat in the ring in an effort to become the federal Conservative candidate in the largely French-speaking riding.
When the vote took place on Dec. 14, Goodman wasn’t selected as the candidate — yet he remains in good spirits about the outcome.
“There was a lot of interest with six candidates deciding to pursue the nomination, so I was happy with my result — which was third but only six votes behind second and less than 30 votes behind the winner when I dropped off the ballot,” he said.
“Another dozen votes or so, and who knows what could have happened on the final ballot.”
Regardless of the outcome, Goodman feels he would have made a strong member of Parliament.
“I’ve worked in politics and around the federal government for the last 15-plus years, so I feel like I know Ottawa about as well as anyone and could be a really strong MP. I’ve also worked on a lot of campaigns, including in the Interlake, and thought that I could give the Conservatives a good chance in a riding that is generally very difficult for our party,” he said.
“I’m also about as fed up with the current federal government as most Canadians are and wanted to be part of the change. I still will be part of the change, but it will look different than what I had in mind a couple months ago.”
Looking ahead, Goodman is taking some time to reflect on what will come next for him.
“I’ll probably think a bit more about that dozen votes, for starters, and things I might have done differently,” he said.
“Beyond that, though, I’ll keep finding ways to learn more about Ottawa, how this town works and how I can get things done as an MP, whenever and wherever that might be. I’m sure I’ll also be out knocking doors again soon, just as a volunteer this time instead of as a candidate.”
